Dispenser for tooth powder and the like



March 23, 1937. M. H. SACHAROW DISPENSER FOR TOOTH POWDER AND .THE LIKE Original Filed Dec. l7, 1934 3 Z W Z .W 3 m M H 5 m H m W m V 4. E M O 5 w m M m A Ih F H 1 l I a vk a E u E m W Y B Patented Mar. 23, 1937 2,074,344

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,074,344 DISPENSER FOR may; POWDER AND THE Maurice H. Sacharow, ClevclandHeights, Ohio Application December 17, 1934, Serial No. 757,803 Renewed June 11, 1936 8 Claims. (Cl. 221-114) This invention relates to a dispenser for powders of various kinds, and has particular reference to a dispenser for tooth powder to cause a predetermined amount of powder to be deposited on a tooth brush when the latter is inserted in a suitable opening of the device.

The principal object of thepresent invention is to provide a dispenser especially for tooth powder which will permit convenient and more eco- 11 nomical handling of the powder by causing a predetermined amount to be deposited directly on the bristles of the brush and thus avoid waste which always occurs when the powder is deposited on a brush directly from the usual con- 13 tainer or when first deposited in the hand of the user.

A further object is to provide a device of this kind involving a container which can be refilled from time to time and which can be made artistic 20 so as to constitute an ornamental as well as sanitary adjunct to-the bathroom.

The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in 5 the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the powder holder and dispenser;

30 Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on an enlarged scale, the section being taken in the plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

35 Fig. 4 is a sectional view on a still larger scale with the section taken as in Fig. 2 but showing chiefly the dispensing or discharging part of the device; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but 40 showing substantially only the mechanism or parts of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing, the dispenser includes a container H) which may have any desired shape and be ornamented preferably in an 45 artistic or attractive manner. The container is preferably of sheet metal, and in this instance is somewhat prismatic in shape. At the top there is a removable cover II which has a friction fit either outside or inside the top of the container 50 body. Within the container and a suitable distance from the top is a sheet metal hopper l2 the upper portion of which contacts with the four sides of the container body and is suitably secured thereto, the four sides tapering down- 55 wardly and inwardly. Between the bottom 01 r the hopper and the top of the container body there is sumcient capacity to receive a predetermined quantity of powder which can either be poured into the container when the cover is removed or which may be filled by a refill package, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The bottom of the hopper is some distance above the bottom of the container for it is desired that there be sufficient space below the bottom of the hopper to accommodate a tooth brush which is adapted to be inserted laterally into the side of the container. Likewise, it is desired that the movement of the brush into the container cause a predetermined amount of powder to be automatically deposited on the brush. It is therefore necessary that there be provided at the bottom of the hopper a. suitable brush operated powder discharging device. This may assume different forms, such as the rotary dumping type involving a pivoted rotary discharge member or a rectilinearly movable discharging or dispensing device.

The important feature is that a suitable device be provided at the bottom of the hopper controlled or actuated by the movement of the brush so as to deposit a predetermined amount of powder thereon when it is moved into the lower part of the container beneath the hopper. For reasons which will appear presently, the last mentioned type of discharge device is preferred, i. e., the device involving a rectilinearly movable scraper. Accordingly, the hopper is provided at the bottom with an elongated semi-cylindrical or trough-shaped horizontal portion l3 the opposite ends of which are open. This semi-cylindrical bottom portion l3 forms the equivalent of a shelf except for the closure formed by the discharge device.

This discharge device includes two horizontally movable longitudinally spaced semi-circular 010- sure members M and I5 which are held in fixed relation with respect to each other by a longitudinal pin I6 to which they are secured, these members It and I5 normally closing the ends of the trough-shaped or semi-cylindrical shelf I3 at the bottom of the hopper, as best shown in Fig. 4. The closure member M, which is preferably formed from a stamping, has a portion bent rearwardly and then downwardly, forming an extension I! which is adapted to be engaged by the brush and constitutes the operating member which by the movement of the brush actuates f the discharge device.

The closure member l5 hasa horizontal forwardly projecting extension or tongue l8 which,

when the discharge device is moved horizontally rearwardly, at which time the member I acts as a scraper to discharge the contents of the trough or shelf I3 from the opening normally 5 closed by the closure I4, moves inwardly across the top of the trough I3 and acts as a gate or cutoff to hold back the powder above it until the discharge device is restored to normal position shown by full lines in Fig. 4. To restore the device to normal position, there is employed a suitable spring I9 which in this instance is a coil spring whose inner end is connected to the forward end of the pin I6 and whose opposite end is suitably connected to the front wall of the container I0, as best shown in Fig. 4. It-

will be observed particularly by reference to Fig. 5 that the gate or cutoff device I8 slidingly engages the lower part of the hopper at the top of the trough or semi-cylindrical shelf I3, the side edges of thegate I8 preferably riding in grooves 20 formed at the top of the cylindrical portion I3, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The front wall of the container is provided adjacent the bottom with an opening 2| for the insertion of a brush, see Fig. 1.

ing, in width and height, is such that it will accommodate any of the usual sizes of tootlr brushes, see Figs. 1, 2, and 4. In line with this opening 2I a horizontal passageway isformed from the front to the rear walls of the container body In parallel with and directly beneath the trough or shelf I3 at the bottom of the hopper, this passageway being formed by a suitably formed sheet metal strip 22. The passageway 36 thus formed is directly in line with and conforms in shape or outline to the opening 2| in the front wall of the container body, as will be seen particularly by reference to Figs. 1 and 5. The forward and rear ends of the stamping are secured in any suitable manner, by spot-welding or otherwise, to the front and rear walls respectively of the container body I0 so as to be held in fixed horizontal position in the lower part of the container body. Except for a short distance at its forward end, the passageway formed by the stamping 22 is open at the top, but for its full length is closed at its sides and bottom, For the major portion of its length, the top of the stamping 22 forming the passageway has two divergent wings 23 and these fit closely about the outer semi-cylindrical shelf or trough I3, as best shown in Fig. 5. The vertical depending extension I! of the discharge device projects down to near the bottom of the passageway formed by the stamping 22, and the opening at the top of the stamping rearwardly of the trough I3 is wide enough to permit the free movement of this extension back and forth in the passageway when the tooth brush is inserted into the passageway and then retracted.

The dispenser operates as follows: Assuming that there is a quantitiy of powder in the container, the trough-shaped shelf 3 will of course be filled and when the user wishes to apply powder to the brush, he simply inserts the tooth brush, with the bristle portion standing up, into the passageway formed by the stamping 22 and moves it back the full distance. As it is moved back, the forward end of the brush engages the abutment I1, and further movement of the brush rearwardly causes the discharge device to operate, and, in so doing, the powder in the trough or on the shelf I3 is scraped off the latter by the rearward movement of the scraper I5 and is deposited on the This openbrush, it being noted that the powder will be deposited uniformly and progressively on the brush as the brush is moved inwardly. Then when the brush is retracted, the parts of the discharge device are restored by the spring I9 to their normal position, whereupon the trough is again filled with powder, it being remembered that when the powder was being dispensed and discharged onto the brush the slide or cutoff I8 moved inwardly so as to hold back the powder above the trough. In this way there is no spillage of the powder except the small amount which may fall off the brush, and whatever does fall off falls into the bottom of the passageway 22. This can be emptied if desired, but I may provide at the bottom of the passageway a slide 24 which can be slid out when desired to clean it. In this instance, theslide is provided near opposite edges, 1. e., near opposite sides of the bottom of the passageway, with slightly bowed light springs 25 which are adapted to be engaged by the bristle-holder of the brush and thus centralize the brush in the passageway as it is moved inwardly and outwardly. Thus brushes, regardless of their width, will move through the passageway centrally thereof. If desired, the side edge portions of the slide may be slightly curved or bent upwardly so that the slide will be somewhat trough-shaped or upwardly concaved to better retain any powder which may drop from the brush onto the slide.

It might be mentioned that the hopper I2 and the stamping 22, during assembly, can be inserted through the bottom of the container. The bottom may or may not be closed, but in this instance is closed by a bottom wall 26 which can be secured to the lower edge of the con tainer body in any suitable manner.

When the device is being operated to dispense powder, the container can be held in the hand of the user, or, if desired, it may be mounted on the wall of the bathroom or any other suitable place, and for this purpose the back wall (see Fig. 2) is provided with a strap or loop 21 which can engage over a suitable retaining hook.

It is a feature of the present invention that there is little likelihood of the powder caking or clogging at the bottom of the hopper and thus failing to pass by gravity into the trough-shaped bottom I3. To bring this about, the dispensing device is preferably provided with one or more agitators 28 which extend upwardly from a suitable part of the dispensing or discharge portion of the device, in this instance from the scraper I5, so as to extend up into the powder which is in the hopper immediately above the trough or shelf I3. Thus as a tooth brush is moved inwardly against the extension or abutment I1 and operates the discharge device, this agitator is moved back through the powder and then back again when the brush is retracted so as to keep the powder in a loosened condition. If desired, more than one of these agitators may be provided.

The container body may be supplied with powder in any suitable manner when it needs replenishing, but I contemplate the production of refill packages which can be supplied to the users of the dispensers. These refill packages may be made of a size to substantially fit the upper part of the container body when the cover II is removed, including a pyramidal portion which will fit into the hopper. When one of these refill packages-is inserted in the container and down into the hopper, as just stated, and if the discharge device with its upstanding agitating prong 28 is then moved inwardly or rearwardly, this prong will cut a slit in the lower end of the package. For that reason a single agitator is preferred, and it is preferably made sharp enough to readily out the paper of which the refill package is made. The user then has simply to allow the powder to run out of the slit until the package is empty and then throw it away.

While I have menioned the fact that this dispenser is especially adapted for dispensing tooth powder, it may be useful also for dispensing other powdered materials, onto a brush or other device which may be inserted into the container body in the same manner that the tooth brush is inserted to operate the device.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. In a dispenser for tooth powder and the like,

a container having a portion for receiving the powder to be dispensed with provison at the bottom thereof for discharging a. predetermined amount of powder, a passageway extending from the exterior of the container for the insertion of a brush beneath the discharge portion, and means whereby the discharge device is operated when the brush is pushed into the passageway to deposit powder progressively on thebrush as the latter is moved inwardly.

2. In a dispenser for tooth powder and the like,

' a container having a portion for receiving a quantity of powder, a discharge device at the bottom thereof having provision for discharging a predetermined amount of powder, a passageway extending from the exterior of the container adapted to have a brush inserted therein, and means extending into the path of movement of the brush whereby the discharge device is operated when the brush is pushed into the passageway to deposit powder progressively on the brush as the latter is moved inwardly.

3. In a dispenser for tooth powder and the like.

a container adapted to receive a quantity of powder, a device at the bottom thereof for discharging a predetermined amount of powder, a

passageway beneath said device, and means projecting from a portion of the discharge device into the path of a brush inserted in said passageway to cause the powder to be discharged pro- 0 5 inwardly.

gressively onto the brush as the latter is movedquantity of powder, a discharge device at the bottom of said portion, a passageway beneath said device adapted to have a brush inserted therein,

, and means operated by the endwise movement of the brush through the passageway for causing said discharge device to deposit a predetermined amount of powder progressively onto the brush as the latter is moved inwardly.

5. In a dispenser for tooth powder and the like, a container having a portion adapted to receive a quantity of powder, a discharge device including a shelf at the bottom of said portion and a scraper movable thereover, a passageway extending inwardly beneath said discharge device, and means connected with. the scraper and-engaged by and movable with a brush while being inserted in the passageway for causing .a predetermined amount of powder to be moved off the shelf and deposited on the brush.

6. In a dispenser for tooth powder and the like, a container having a portion adapted to receive'a quantity of powder, a discharge device including a shelf at the bottom of said portion and a scraper movable thereover, a passageway extending from the exterior of the container beneath said discharge device, and a member connected with the scraper and extending into the passageway and adapted to be engaged and moved by a brush to cause a predetermined amount of powder to be deposited thereon'as it is moved through the passageway.

'7. In a dispensing device for tooth powder and the like, a container having a portion adapted to receive a quantity of powder, a shelf at the bottom of said portion, a scraper movable thereover, a passageway extending from the exterior of the container beneath the shelf, anda member connected to the scraper and extending therefrom into the passageway and engageable by a brush as it is inserted in the passageway.

8. In a dispensing device for tooth powder and the like, a container having a portion adapted to receive a quantity of powder, a shelf at the bottom of said portion, a scraper movable thereover, a passageway extending from the exterior of the container beneath the shelf, a member connected to the scraper and extending therefrom into the passageway and engageable by a brush as it is inserted in the passageway, and means for automatically restoring the scraper to its former position when the brush is retracted.

MAURICE H. SACHAROW. 

